Role: Complaints and Student Conduct Administrative Assistant
Grade and Salary: Grade 4- £24,546-£26,707 per annum
FTE and working pattern: 1 FTE (Full time- 35 hours per week) fixed term for 6 months
Holiday Entitlement: 28 days annual leave plus 9 buildings closed days (and Christmas Eve when it falls on a weekday).
Directorate Name: Governance and Legal Services (GALS)
Reporting to: Senior Conduct Officer (Dr Cindy Stubbs)
About our Directorate and Team:
The Directorate seeks to deliver, enhance and adapt an effective and sustainable governance framework upholding the rights and obligations of all stakeholders, including international stakeholders. The purpose is to support sound, effective and accountable decision making and stewardship of the University's resources and reputation. The Directorate's core objective is to protect Heriot-Watt University's reputation, brand, values and assets and its definition of Success to maintain compliance with standards (legislation, codes of practice etc.) and enhance value.
Purpose of Role:
The role holder will occupy a administrative role within the Student Appeals, Student Academic Misconduct and University Complaints Team of the Policy and Governance Division and will have the responsibility for providing supporting the caseload of student complaints, appeals and discipline related issues across the University.
The role holder will work with the Senior Complaints Officer and Senior Student Conduct Officer, to undertake investigations, prepare reports and responses to cases, ensuring compliance with internal and external regulations and best governance practice.
In addition, the role holder will support the Policy and Governance of the University, by undertaking clerking responsibilities for sub-committees of the University and in ensuring maintenance of University Regulations and Policies in their area.
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
- The post-holder will provide a clerical service for the Division’s internal process for dealing with student academic appeals, student academic and non-academic misconduct and Univeristy complaints, supporting on a daily basis the management of cases reported to the University
- Acknowledging receipt of cases and creating appropriate folders within (i) the Microsoft Outlook mailboxes, (ii) on the internal SharePoint folders, (iii) external software platforms
- Collating the evidence submitted, from a variety of sources, and ensuring that these are appropriately allocated to the correct case folders
- Creating the case file templates for each case in the manner required, ensuring that these are inline with policy and procedures
- Supporting the team in arranging meetings with staff and/or students
- Liaise with the Primary Academic Units, and all campuses, in respect of management of cases, with provision of relevant background information for consideration by the relevant Committees and, where applicable, Deans of the University, providing advice on Complaint and Student Conduct procedures and on individual student cases that are being reviewed, the stages of cases, and on individual appeals on cases
- Provide ancillary support for other governance related activities undertaken by the Policy and Governance Division, as requested by the Head of Policy and Governance Division
Education, Qualifications & Experience:
Essential
- Excellent written and oral communications skills, and the ability independently to produce high quality written work
- Experience of working on their own initiative with minimal day-to-day supervision, and proactivity in their approach to managing the day-to-day affairs of the their work and identifying and implementing improvements
- A flexible and adaptable approach, coupled with the ability to prioritise workload to meet deadlines
- Good all round organisational and forward planning abilities. The post-holder will be expected to balance a varied group of concurrent projects and activities
- A high degree of attention to detail and accuracy of working in all areas relating to the post
- The ability to operate with a high degree of tact and discretion due to the highly sensitive and confidential nature of the material that may be handled
- A pleasant, helpful and professional manner
- Experience of team working and effectiveness as a good team player
- IT literacy with good keyboard skills, a good working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications, especially Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and the Internet
Desirable
- Knowledge and experience of file management (including emails)
- Relevant tertiary-level educational or vocational qualifications
- Knowledge and experience of appeal, complaints and/or discipline (misconduct) policies and procedures.
Key Responsibilities:
Team Work
- Participate in and contribute to the general support across the team
- Cover for other colleagues within the immediate team
Service Excellence
- Create a positive image of the University by being responsive, prompt and courteous when responding to requests or enquiries from customers
- Produce standard reports as requested
- Enter and maintain records and data into the appropriate university system (e.g. appeals, complaints and misconduct logs and spreadsheets)
- Process documents, for example applications, offers, contracts, orders, records, payments and other information in accordance with agreed service levels and information security procedures
- Carry out general office duties, e.g. reception/meeting and greeting; sort and organise mail; order stationery; maintain office equipment such as printer, photocopier etc.
- Keep working area clean and tidy in line with appropriate H&S requirements
Clear and Consistent Communications
- Maintain confidentiality at all times by following university policies and guidance in managing confidential information and personal data
- Write standard communications using templates, understanding what parts of the template to use as appropriate
- Explain standard procedures, regulations, operating instructions or course information.
- Reply to simple requests for information, routing enquiries where information is standard/routine.
- Disseminate news and information to relevant customers and colleagues
Planning and Organising
- Arrange meetings/workshops for internal and external customers, including room and equipment, hospitality and invites to attendees as requested
- Carry out routine instructions from standard procedures
- File, archive and destroy data in line with the University Data Protection & Retention Policy
- Provide appropriate admin support for meetings and events
- Support School/Directorate and team processes and procedures by meeting schedules and timetables
Initiative and Problem Solving
- Use standard procedures and guidelines to solve day to day issues
- Act as first point of contact for queries from customers by phone, email, system-generated and in person
- Use experience and initiative to identify when to pass non-standard issues to line manager
- Use experience to suggest solution to new problems to line manager
Decision Making
- Make day to day decision in prioritising own workload
- Provide routine advice and guidance, respond to queries and refer more complex queries to more senior members of the team as appropriate
- Follow set procedures and protocols referring any non-standard requests to line manager.
- Understand the appropriate tools to use when undertaking day to day tasks
Management Responsibilities
- There are no management responsibilities within this position but you may be asked to take on supervisor duties on occasion as part of your personal development
Citizenship
- Demonstrate the University Values at all times through performance and behaviour
- Participate in ad-hoc duties to support the team/University and for personal development
- Support newer or inexperienced colleagues within and outside the University by offering support, help and advice
- Positively promote the University internally and externally through positive behaviour and supporting University-wide activities
How to Apply:
Please submit your CV & covering letter via the Heriot-Watt on-line recruitment.
Applications can be submitted up to 11:55pm (UK time) on Tuesday 28th April
Interviews are expected to take place during the week of the 4th May
For any enquiries about this position, please contact Marc Quin, Head of Policy and Governance- m.a.quinn@hw.ac.uk
About Heriot-Watt University:
At Heriot-Watt we are passionate about our values and look to them to connect our people globally and to help us collaborate and celebrate our success through working together. Our research programmes can deliver real world impact which is achieved through the diversity of our international community and the recognition of creative talent that connects our global team.
Our flourishing community will give you the freedom to challenge and to bring your enterprising mind and to help our partners with solutions that can be applied now and in the future. Join us and Heriot Watt will provide you with a platform to thrive and work in a way that also helps you live your life in balance with well-being and inclusiveness at the heart of our global community.
Heriot-Watt University is committed to securing equality of opportunity in employment and to the creation of an environment in which individuals are selected, trained, promoted, appraised and otherwise treated on the sole basis of their relevant merits and abilities. Equality and diversity are all about maximising potential and creating a culture of inclusion for all.
Heriot-Watt University values diversity across our University community and welcomes applications from all sectors of society, particularly from underrepresented groups. For more information, please see our website https://www.hw.ac.uk/uk/services/equality-diversity.htm and also our award-winning work in Disability Inclusive Science Careers https://disc.hw.ac.uk/ .
Use our total rewards calculator: https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/work/total-rewards-calculator.htm to see the value of benefits provided by Heriot-Watt University.
